The world's first industrial suburb

Ancoats was the world’s first industrial suburb, a community which grew in the 19th century thanks to the many mills that surrounded it. Nestled among them were terraced houses, occupied by the workers.

Fast forward to the 1960s and the cobbled streets had turned to cotton slums, as the mills fell silent, the houses were demolished and the jobs disappeared. And in the 1970s, the area was redeveloped by the council who created low density housing.

In 2000, just 22 years after the first residents moved in, Manchester's Cardroom Estate was a deprived place, losing its pubs, shops and eventually the local primary school.

The Cardroom Estate (Image: Manchester Evening News)

In 2002, the area was identified as one of seven Millennium Community development projects, to be delivered as a public-private partnership.

Urban Splash won the opportunity to be the lead developer and has been responsible for spearheading the transformation of the area ever since, working alongside the council and other developers and housing groups, including Great Places, Manchester Life, Waterside Places and McCauls.

Despite the estate's difficulties, it remained a proud, tight-knit community.

Joan who grew up in the area, is quoted in Cardroom Voices.

"I remember when we moved here. It was lovely ... (but) it completely changed", she said. "Then there was the drugs and everything. It used to be a lovely estate years ago."

Before beginning the regeneration of the area, Urban Splash consulted with Cardroom residents like Joan, who helped to choose the new types of property, the architects for the first phase of social housing and the new name - New Islington.

Existing residents who wanted to stay in the area were given the right to go back to the street they lived in in a new house. However, some residents were unsure about the regeneration of the area and the changes that were to come.

Consultations with local residents (Image: Manchester Evening News)

Long-time resident Jean said: "Urban Splash have got this vision and they think it will work, but it won't work because they are segregating the community to outside areas.

"I have fought and fought damn hard for this community and if Urban Splash or whoever think they can come in here and tell us what is best for us then they've got another thing coming."

Another resident said: "I'm not sure about all this Urban Splash stuff. I look forward to going to the meetings but when I get there the light at the end of the tunnel has gone out. You just storm back. It's the waiting that gets to me, it's frustrating.

"I am trying to keep optimistic. I'm keeping my options open for an apartment. If it's light and airy, because I like loads of light, that will be OK for me. I won't bother anybody."

Others, including couple Terry and Lillian, were cautiously optimistic about the future. They had been planning on moving out of the area for years due to issues with drugs and violence on the estate.

Lillian said: "I'd like to think positively. I think things are going to get a lot better. I think here is going to be a really nice place to live. I want to be positive. I want to stay in this district... if we can afford it."

Speaking about photographing the area, Len Grant said: "I wasn't keen at first walking around the Cardroom Estate with my camera. It was close to the city centre but was cut off with lots of dodgy walkways and dead ends. Its reputation was not good.

"But then I got to know many of the residents and they were fed up, ready for things to change. But they'd been made promises before so when Urban Splash got involved the trendy developers were treated with caution. 'They only do loft apartments,' said the residents. 'They've never actually built a house.'

"[Urban] Splash spent time getting to know everyone who was left on the dilapidated estate and they, their architects and housing partners built trust. Everyone was on first name terms and that, for a regeneration project, was refreshing.

"Consultation events followed and the developers took on board everyone's comments and were upfront when they disagreed. Change happened slowly and many local people were re-housed, others moved on.

"What was evident through talking with residents was the collective stress people were under. People wanted things to get better but moving house is not easy for anyone. Having a whole community in upheaval with no real power over when things would happen was particularly difficult. Sometimes those in charge don’t get that."

Building New Islington

At the time of laying out Urban Splash's vision for the New Islington masterplan in 2002, chief executive, Tom Bloxham MBE set out his intentions for what he wanted to create.

He said: "Let’s put in some new canals, let’s create a new Amsterdam, let’s create 'New East Manchester-dam' and create a special place in the city.

"We need parks, schools, clinics, not just mediocre things, state of the art things that people are happy with. Let’s get them serving the population of East Manchester and the city centre.

"It is a challenge, but we've got the skills and the enthusiasm and energy to make this deliver."

Front page of MEN in September 2002: "Ancoats as you've never seen it before" (Image: manchester evening news)

Urban Splash worked with leading architect Will Alsop and the existing local community to design the masterplan for the area.

Alsop created a first sketch showing the vision for the area and the idea that inspired New Islington - linking the canals to form a new waterside community in the heart of the city.

The sketch and the idea that inspired New Islington, by the late Will Alsop

New Islington now features a mix of homes including social housing, apartments and family homes, alongside businesses, offices and public spaces.

In 2006, the first homes were built in Islington Square; 23 two to four-bedroom family homes with gardens, followed by another 14 affordable homes on Piercy Street in 2007.

In 2010 came Chips, an innovative design which looks like three fat chips sitting on top of each other, containing nine storeys of apartments and workspaces. And a further 18 affordable terraced and semi-detached homes came in 2012 with the arrival of The Guts.

Chips (Image: Manchester Evening News)

Green space and water transformed public spaces, helping to grow the feeling of community in New Islington.

New canals were built, with Cotton Field eco-park following in 2008 and the construction of the new marina in 2011, bringing to life Will Alsop's original vision.

The piece of land where the marina and park now exist (Image: Manchester Evening News)

March 2008 - the construction of the New Islington Marina (Image: Manchester Evening News)

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Like Modular Housing, Town House's innovative designs allow house-buyers to design their own home, choosing the size, whether the living space is on the top floor or bottom floor, as well as options for open plan or 'multi room' designs.

The other forthcoming development, Mansion House, has flexible design. The apartment blocks consist of between eight and ten homes with a single entrance and each floor consists of two apartments with shared hallway.

Each apartment has a long balcony, high ceilings and over-sized windows and doors for optimal natural light.

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The development of areas such as this, as well as Castlefield and Spinningfields, has been instrumental in driving forward the current trend towards city-centre living.

More people than ever live in the city centre, and it is not just the number of people that have increased but the demographic of residents that has shifted over the years, with more and more families choosing to make their home in the centre.

The building of family homes, as well as the arrival of amenities such as the New Islington Free School , a health care practice, supermarket, shops and restaurants, have made it possible for families to put down roots in the city centre, whereas before, a move to the suburbs would have been the automatic course of action.

CGI of what New Islington will look like in 2020 (Image: Manchester Evening News)

Seventeen years on from being earmarked for development, the area is completely unrecognisable.

The Cardroom Estate is no more and Ancoats has developed into a desireable inner-city village; last year named the 13th coolest neighbourhood in the world .

We've said goodbye to the estate, but welcomed a vibrant community which is making a name for itself as a destination on the world stage.